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Teeling Single Cask Amarone Finish

We are delighted to announce our collaboration with Teeling Whiskey and Musella winery the Teeling Single Cask Amarone Finish. We have brought together our expertise in wine and spirits and worked with our partners at Teeling Whiskey and Musella winery to create a new Irish whiskey expression.

At the start of this process we were interested in creating a limited edition Irish whiskey finished in wine barrels, but it was important to us that we could select the type of wine that had been in the barrel and also that it would be one the wineries we work with as we wanted to dictate the wine quality and the quality of the barrels. We approached Musellla Winery as we believed that their Amarone, as a wine style with its complexity and touch of sweetness, would add an interesting flavour dimension to the whiskey. Musella were delighted to work on the project and their support was integral for the authenticity of the project, this is why we acknowledge Musella on the label.

Early this summer the barrels were shipped from Italy to our Dublin warehouse where they were inspected by our whiskey and wine buying teams, as well as Teelings master distiller and blender Alex Chasko, before moving to Teelings distillery for filling and maturation. We wanted a whiskey that displayed great character on its own but also one with subtlety and finesse that would take on the character of the wine barrels. We choose a 10 year old single malt Irish whiskey that had been aged solely in ex-bourbon cask that displayed rich fruit, nut and spice notes with a soft full mouthfeel that reflected the character of the wine.

Alex Chasko of Teeling inspecting the Amarone barrels

The team at O’Briens worked closely with Teelings tasting the whiskey over the course of the aging process, as the flavour profile developed and took on the raisined dark fruit and spice flavours of Amarone, before making final decision on when to bottle. We wanted to preserve the character of the cask aging while adding a layer of complexity from the wine finish. The whiskey was bottled at 46% and is non-chill filtered to preserve the character. The natural colour is the result of its aging in cask and of course a subtle shade from its time resting in Amarone barrels.

We believe that together with our partners we have a unique Irish whiskey expression with character and balance. The bottle is presented in a gift tube making it an ideal present for the whiskey lover in your life. This is usually retailing at €75 but is on offer through Christmas for €65. Stocks are limited but you can pick up your bottle exclusively at your local O’Briens store or online. We hope you enjoy it.